Alex Grand Guillot is a windsurfer from La Manche. Talented, ambitious and attached to his region, he is a rising star in the world of windsurfing. This watersport is very popular in La Manche, with amateurs typically windsurfing flat water, while experts like Alex prefer choppier conditions. Speed sailing, wave sailing or freestyle, the discipline is impressive to watch. Alex is a wave sailing champion and la Manche is his ideal playground.
Top three best spots, advice, video: get your wetsuit on, we’re taking you to ride with Alex.
Which are Alex’s top windsurfing spots??
With its changeable weather and windy coasts, La Manche has lots of great places for windsurfing, especially on the west coast. To train in the best conditions, Alex’s favourite spots are the beaches at Urville-Nacqueville, Siouville and Le Rozel. The weather and wind conditions generally determine where he chooses to train.
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Urville-Nacqueville
La Hague
Urville is a top spot in La Manche for this discipline. This is where Alex first started. It’s a very popular place, being perfect for beginners, but with northwesterly winds that also provide great conditions for more experienced windsurfers. The Pôle Nautique de Hague (La Hague watersports centre), where Alex trains, is located in a fort on the beach. It offers group lessons, courses and equipment hire for most of the year. If you’d like to try this activity and/or develop your skills, Urville is the place to be.
This is undoubtedly the best-known spot. The waves here are often powerful and perfect for more experienced windsurfers. This is where you’re most likely to find Alex. Depending on the direction of the wind, the conditions can be very different, with southwesterly lows giving the best conditions. Another big advantage is that the beach is huge: an 11 km stretch to Vauville, meaning there’s room for everybody.
Note: to ride here, you’ll need your own gear. The club in Siouville specialises in surfing and doesn’t have any windsurfing equipment for hire.
Just down the coast from Siouville, Le Rozel is a perfect spot, with southerly and southwesterly winds. The beach is very exposed, with waves that are typically cleaner and longer. As in Siouville, you’ll need to bring your own gear.
Summer is the perfect season for beginner sessions or courses with good temperatures
Spring and autumn have very varied conditions, with good winds and temperatures that are still mild.
And if, like Alex, you’re a thrill seeker, then grab your board and wetsuit and head out in winter. The lows, storms and sometimes freezing temperatures mean you’ll get a real adrenaline rush in spots that are almost deserted.
Note: For ideal conditions, it’s best to go at ebb tide and to avoid high coefficients.
Born in the north of the Cotentin peninsula, Alex has had a passion for windsurfing since the age of nine. After several introductory courses, he joined the Pôle Nautique Hague in Urville, and took part in his first departmental competitions in the “slalom” category when he was 12. He got his first sponsors at 14, then moved into the “wave” category, a discipline in which he would go on to specialise. Since then, Alex has taken part in several junior world championships (coming third in 2016 and second in 2017) and won the French youth championships in 2018. He now has professional status and continues to train in La Manche. Alongside his studies, he participates in the PWA World Tour trials, a challenging circuit, where only the very best can make a living from their passion.
See Alex on social networks
Alex Grand-Guillot on the TV programme Riding Zone
Alex never misses an opportunity to hit the water. He trains in La Manche all year round. He recently appeared on Riding Zone, a TV programme dedicated to extreme sports, boardsports and alternative culture. See his portrait below.